


The Voice in His Head

by SexyEzekielTDI



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2020-10-28 18:04:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20782829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SexyEzekielTDI/pseuds/SexyEzekielTDI
Summary: (Set after Volume Six, Chapter Four. I'm going to avoid the whole soul merging thing for as long as possible...)You know, it's funny. He'd been a normal kid for fourteen years of his life. Then all of a sudden he has an old wizard in his head for only a few months and then suddenly EVERYTHING was different.Ozpin is GONE....buried deep inside Oscar's head...After hearing this voice in his head for months now....and being seriously annoyed by it for the first week of it....his mind feels so empty now without Ozpin's constant input about everything....He...He misses him....He would give ANYTHING for Oz to say just ONE thing to him....just one....(This story is purely self-indulgent. The end game ships are Rose Garden (Ruby and Oscar) and Cloqwork (Qrow and Ozpin). Two of my new faves.)





	1. "I need to hear your voice..."

(Set during the time at Brunswick Farms. The first chance Oscar got, he snuck off and locked himself in an empty bedroom. _Italics _are Oscar's thoughts and _Italics with an underline_ are Ozpin's.)

Oscar sighed as he plopped down on the, thankfully, empty bed. He was so tired. There was an ache inside of him, inside of his heart. He could feel what felt like an iron wall deep in his head, testing the edges of it. Ozpin had locked himself up securely and it was all his fault. He shouldn't have forced the wizard's secrets out into the open like that. He should have given Oz the chance to explain himself. He had his reasons for keeping things to himself. Oscar knew that now. The old headmaster had been trying to protect them all from the harsh reality. Now he was gone and it was all their fault. Him and Qrow. He had felt the harsh stab through the heart Qrow's words had done to Ozpin before he'd left. Before he'd removed himself from the situation, believing that was what was best for them all.

Oscar felt so alone now, though. His head felt strangely quiet without Ozpin's constant advice and dry comments. Even though he'd spent so long without him....Oscar had gotten used to the wizard's presence. He had to fix this. Would...Would Ozpin even answer if he asked? He'd tried the whole way to this farm and he'd gotten no results. Maybe he'd answer if they were alone, hence why he'd run off and locked himself in a room as soon as he was able. He had to try again. He closed his eyes, his fingers clenching the fabric of his pants tightly.

_Ozpin..?_

Nothing.

_.......Oz..?_

Silence.

_I **know** you can hear me...._

_I can feel you..._

He bit his lip, his tears welling in his closed eyes.

_Look. I'm sorry, okay??_

_Is that what you wanted to hear???_

_I shouldn't have forced all your secrets into the open like that..._

_You were probably planning on telling everyone the truth bit by bit so they wouldn't react they way they did....right..?_

_I really messed up..._

_Ozpin, please!!_

His hands were starting to tremble.

_You were always there, even when I didn't want you to be...._

_You were always there...guiding me, encouraging me....just....being there for me..._

_And now everyone....including me....pushed you away...._

_I forced you to relive all of those horrible things you were forced to go through..._

_And then, even worse....I didn't stand up for you..._

_**I** doubted you too...._

A tear slipped down his freckled cheek.

_I'm so sorry..._

_Ozpin....please...._

_Just say **something**._

_I don't even care what it is!_

_I just want to know that you're still there.....that you're still listening..._

_I feel so alone suddenly without you..._

_That's stupid, right..?_

He smiled wryly, sniffling.

_I spent most of my life **without** your stupidly soothing voice in my head...._

_My mind feels so **empty** now without you, though..._

_OZPIN, **PLEASE**!!!!!_

_You've become like a father to me...._

He slouched in defeat, bowing his head as he cried.

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_ ....Oscar.... _

_!??_

The sudden voice caused the small teen to jump in surprise. His eyes flew open as he stared at nothing.

_Ozpin!! You came back!!_

His heart felt heavy in his chest as he felt such a rush of relief.

_ Yes. I....I feel as though **I** should be the one to apolo... _

_NO! You have no reason to apologize, Oz! Not to me, at least...._

_I don't want you to._

_ But, Oscar..... _

_**Oz**. It's okay. You came back. That's all that matters to me._

_ Oscar....I.... _

He sat up straight again, a determined look on his face.

_Shut up and listen, okay? I don't care about the whole merging thing anymore. I did some thinking on the way to this farm. I'm okay with it as long as you don't leave me alone again until it happens._

_ Oscar...do you really feel that way about me..? That I'm.... _

_Like a father to me? Yeah...that's a recent development that **I've** been hiding from **you**..._

He smiled again as he heard Ozpin laugh weakly in response to that.

_ That means a lot to me. You don't know how much.. _

_I think I do. We all saw what happened to Ozma's kids. That kind of feeling can transcend lifetimes. _

_ Oscar....my son....thank you. I won't ever leave you alone as long as I can help it. I promise. _

_**That** means so much to **me**. Thank **you** for being there for me._

_ Always. _

"OSCAR!!!! Oscar, where are you??", a familiar high-pitched voice called out from the hallway. Oscar jumped back into awareness. Ruby. Crap. 

_Oz? Do you want me to tell them that you came back? _

That's entirely up to you, my son.

He smiled a little at the endearment. 

_I think I'll keep that to myself for now. _

Very well. Just be warned that they may not take you lying to them too very well. Miss Xiao Long in particular will probably be severely angry with you.

_I'll deal with that when I have to._

He stood up and made his way over to the door. He gently pulled it open and peered out into the hallway. "I'm right here, Ruby.." The girl's head immediately snapped in his direction and in a flash she was suddenly hugging him. He tensed up, surprised. "Oh my god, Oscar! We came back from looking around and you were gone and Maria didn't even know where you went and we were so worried about you and.." 

Wow. I almost forgot how long Miss Rose can go on and on without breathing. Might want to stop her though before she passes out.

Oscar swallowed nervously. "Ruby, breathe! You can relax, I'm perfectly fine! I just needed a few minutes to myself after...well...after the whole Jinn thing..." She relaxed her hold a little as she pulled back to look at his face, her silver eyes wide with worry. "Oh, Oscar, you were crying! I'm so sorry! None of us really took how you must be feeling into consideration! You're the one with Ozpin in your head! You're the one my Uncle took his hurt and frustration out on! We...**I**...should have paid better attention to you!" She looked so devastated. It pained him to see her that way. He forced a little smile, hoping to put her at ease. "I'm okay, Ruby. Promise." She smiled too. "Okay! Weiss and I found some canned food in the basement for us to eat. Let's go down and get some before there's none left. Even without Nora the food might disappear quickly with how hungry everyone is." She let go of him and grabbed his hand instead. She was so pretty that it hurt.

_ Oscar...focus please...you need to eat more than you need to stare at a pretty girl... _

_ _

He blushed at the amusement in Ozpin's voice. Did he regret bringing Ozpin back? Nope. Don't even need to think about that one. The teasing was welcome after that horrible loneliness. He let Ruby lead him back down to where everyone else was. 

Everyone was seated on various places on the floor in front of the lit fireplace, Maria and Qrow being the only ones seated on actual chairs. Qrow was drinking. He sighed, feeling Ozpin's guilt about that. "Guys, I found Oscar!", Ruby called out as she pulled him fully down the stairs and into the room. They all looked over, minus Qrow who glared out the window he was seated beside, Weiss giving them a relieved smile. "Good. We were saving the two of you some of the canned soup we heated up. How are you feeling, Oscar? This must be hard on you even more than it is for the rest of us. I can't even imagine how frightened you must be.." He took in the worried expression on the white-haired girl's face. "I'm fine, thanks Weiss. I just needed a moment to think.." He jumped as Yang suddenly fixed him with a furious ruby-eyed gaze. "Did that liar come back yet? Don't lie to me, Oscar. I want to know." 'I want to know if we can still trust **you**', went unsaid even though he knew that's what she meant. He swallowed, trying to appear unfazed by her anger. "N-No. He hasn't. The silence is kind of getting to me after having him there for so long, honestly.." There. He wasn't completely lying.

_ Very convincing, Oscar.. _

_ _

_I don't need your sarcasm right now, thank you._

Yang was still glaring at him and now Blake had looked over as well. "Oscar...", the blonde growled, narrowing her eyes. "Stop interrogating the poor boy and let him eat, Goldilocks!", Maria snapped over at them, her goggles sparking for a second. Yang growled to herself, but she moved her gaze to the wooden floor. "Th-Thank you...", he glanced over at the old woman. She made a shooing motion at him. "No need to thank me. Now, go eat what Snow White here saved for you." Weiss huffed in response to that nickname. He blushed, realizing he was still holding Ruby's hand. He jumped away from her and reached for the bowl Weiss was holding out to him.

Qrow finally glanced over. "Alright everyone. Once Oscar and Ruby are done eating, everyone should get some rest. We're going to leave early in the morning." There were murmurs of agreement as Oscar sat down next to the fire and started eating. The soup wasn't bad. A little salty, but not bad. He looked around at everyone else, feeling like he'd finally found a family. Yang's animosity aside anyway. He smiled around his spoon, soon emptying the bowl.

He was so tired....

_ Oscar, I have a really bad feeling about this place.... _

_ _

_ _

_ _

(End of chapter one.)

(Yes, there will be more of this! This was only the beginning!!)


	2. "Oops.."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets come out and bad reactions are imminent.

(Real quick, I want to apologize for Jaune's behavior in this chapter. Grief can cause people to snap. Also, just a quick thing: I always pictured Ozpin's eyes turning emerald green on the rare occasion that he loses his temper. It's not canon, but a girl can imagine..)  
  
  
  


Oscar watched as Jaune paced back and forth with a scowl on his face, trying to process what he'd just been told. He was nervous and Oz just seemed to be apprehensive. They could both sense the building distrust in the air and it was putting Oscar on edge. His heart was racing and he was starting to sweat.  
  
  


_ Relax, my son. Just give them a moment to process. _   
  


He swallowed, resisting the instinct to nod in response to his father-figure's voice in his head.  
  


_Okay....they just look really angry right now.....Jaune especially..._   
  
  
  


_ I suppose I can't really blame them for feeling that way.. _   
  
  


Jaune stopped walking all of a sudden, burying a hand into his golden locks. "Hold on, just let me get this straight. Ozpin has been playing us **all** for fools this **entire** time and then, when all of his lies and secrets are forced out into the open, he just **leaves**..? Are you kidding me?" His blue eyes were dark with rage. Yang nodded, crossing her arms. "That's pretty much the gist of it. Salem's immortal and he didn't have a plan this entire time. I don't think he **ever** had one!" Ruby took a step closer to Jaune. "I think he thought he was doing what was best for us, trying to shield us from the harsh reality.."  
  
  
  
  


"Oh, grow up, Ruby. You spent the entire time at that horrid farm trying to convince us that Ozpin isn't the bad guy in this situation.", Weiss snapped at her. "He's been lying to everyone for years. He wasn't planning on telling us the truth. It's only thanks to Oscar fighting back against him that we found anything out in the first place." Ruby frowned, just biting her lip. No one else spoke up for a moment. Oscar started wringing his hands as he stood quietly at the bottom of the stairs. He should probably contribute to the conversation somehow, but he didn't know what to say. What **could** he say that wouldn't reveal that he's been lying about Oz? Defending the old wizard's guilt and obvious trauma was right on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed back the words. That would probably be the worst idea right now.  
  
  
  
  


Blake's cat ears were drooping as she looked between her friends. "Maybe we shouldn't take this out on Ruby..", she spoke up softly. Qrow made a sound of agreement from the top of the stairs. "No one's taking **anything** out on Ruby! We're all just tired of her defending Ozpin!", Yang yelled in reply. "You can't sit there and tell me any differently, Blake. You know you are too!"  
  
  
  
  


Oscar put his hands over his ears as they all started yelling at each other. What exactly was this going to accomplish? He could feel that Oz was in agreement with that question. He should say something. He felt a strange sensation then as he opened his mouth. He and Oz were on the same page...  
  
  
  
  


"**Guys..**" His eyes widened, and he could feel Oz's panic, as the voice that left his mouth came out as two: his own and Ozpin's layered over each other like they had spoken at the same time. They probably had considering how in sync he'd just felt. He slapped his hands over his mouth. _Oops. _The room went silent as every gaze in the room was suddenly on **him**. Yang's eyes were red and Weiss' gaze was icy. Ruby was just concerned and it showed in her beautiful eyes. "Oscar...", she said his name softly, worry in her tone.  
  
  
  
  


"I thought you said he hadn't come back.", Jaune spoke up quietly, his voice unusually calm. Oscar slowly lowered his hands. "I.." Yang shot to her feet. "How long have you been hiding him??? Why the hell would you do that in the first place???" Oscar took a hesitant step backwards. Yang growled at him. "I....I..." Ozpin's presence in his head became reassuring. "S-Since the farm.....H-He only c-came back once I b-begged..." Jaune finally turned to glare at him. Yang took a step backwards in her angry surprise. "Dammit! I should have guessed! I kept noticing you spacing out at random moments! Your gaze would unfocus whenever that lying bastard was talking to you before and you were listening!! Why didn't I make the connection??"  
  
  
  


"Why would you betray us like this??", Jaune snapped. "We were all finally getting to know you! We put our lives at stake for you multiple times now! I thought we were friends, Oscar!!" Oscar violently flinched. "W-We are..", he squeaked. Qrow stood and started walking back down the stairs. "Kid, I don't think - KID!!!"   
  
  


Jaune lunged forward and grabbed Oscar by the throat, slamming him against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. He lifted the small teen up off the ground, squeezing. Oscar looked up at his face with wide, terrified, eyes. He tried to speak, but was cut off by Jaune squeezing tighter. "NO!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD OUT OF YOUR LYING MOUTH!!", he yelled, tears falling from his eyes. Oscar struggled to breathe, hearing his pulse racing behind his ears. He grabbed onto Jaune's wrists, his eyes watering.  
  
  


"Jaune!!"  
  
  


"Jaune, let him go!!  
  
  


"Kid!!"  
  
  


Qrow made to move down the stairs, but Jaune slammed Oscar against the wall again, halting him. The boy's lightly tanned face was starting to turn grey. "Stay back! I'll break his neck if anyone comes closer!" Oscar's vision was blurring. He was starting to see black spots.  
  
  


Yang took a step forward, risking it. "Jaune! I understand that you're angry! I'm angry too! That's not an excuse for attempting to murder a child!" Jaune's breathing hitched. "No, you **don't** understand! Oscar's been hiding a monster from us! Pyrrha is **dead** because of Ozpin! I can **never** forgive him for that! Now, this brat is going down the same path. I have to stop him. So, I'm going to end him right now!"  
  
  


"Jaune!"  
  
  


"Shut up, Ruby!"  
  
  


Oscar was beginning to lose consciousness, his hands falling away from Jaune's wrists. Qrow's gaze was locked onto Oscar's face. He had to do something! His eyes widened then. Oz. **_Oz_**_._  
  
  


"Oz! You can't honestly tell me you're going to just let this happen!!", Qrow yelled, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip on the bannister.  
  
  


Jaune's grip tightened, making Oscar whimper.  
  
  


"Oz!"  
  
  


"**OZ**!!!!!"  
  
  


_ No one is going to hurt my son. _   
  
  


Jaune clenched his jaw, not releasing his grip, as the yellow light traveled over Oscar's irises. Those eyes narrowed and Oscar's hands went right back onto Jaune's wrists, the grip stronger than before. Jaune growled. "Ozpin.." He slammed the teen's body against the wall again, harder than the other two times. "Great to see you! Now I can kill you personally!" Qrow took a few more steps down the stairs. "Kid, listen to me. If you kill Oscar, then both him **and** Oz will move onto another like-minded soul and that poor person will have **two** distraught souls in their head! Then we'd have to waste time finding Oz all over again! Besides, I'd really recommend letting Oscar go." Jaune glared over at him, noticing how much closer he was. "Yeah? And why's that?" Qrow pointed at Oscar. "Because now you're dealing with the most powerful being in the history of Remnant, aside from Salem herself....and you're trying to kill his vessel." Jaune returned his attention to the teen in his grasp.  
  
  


Oscar's irises were now a glowing emerald green and his expression was one of unfiltered rage. He shot a glare at Qrow for what he just said before looking at Jaune furiously.  
  
  


Ozpin activated their aura, hoping to lessen the bruises Oscar might end up with, feeling familiar magic bubbling under the surface. He could feel Oscar's panic and he let him feel his protective determination in response to it. He glared into Jaune's eyes. He understood the boy's grief and frustration, probably the most out of anyone else on Remnant. Despite that, he wasn't going to let him take it out on a boy who didn't deserve it. He attempted to loosen the blonde's grip first, feeling that his physical strength was waning too as a result of the strangling. Just wonderful. He didn't want to hurt Jaune, but he would if he had to. He activated their aura once more, charging up a magic attack that would hopefully push the teen backwards.  
  
  
  


"Kid! Last chance to let Oscar go!!", Qrow snapped, realizing what the old wizard was about to do. Jaune looked onto Oscarpin's eyes just in time for a blast of green electricity to slam into his chest. "_AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!_", his voice escaped from him as a high-pitched scream and he jolted away from Oscar, landing on his ass. Nora and Ren immediately ran to his side as he rode out the convulsions until they stopped.   
  
  
  


Oscar landed on the floor with a thud, Ozpin relinquishing his control of their body. The boy was wheezing and choking as he struggled to regain his breath. Qrow jumped over the banister, landing beside him, and started loosening the bandages around Oscar's throat. He shook his head when Oscar looked at him, panicked. "Relax, kiddo. I'm trying to make it easier for you to breathe. I'm not taking them off, just loosening them is all." Oscar glowed green for a moment, and then....there was Ozpin. He was slightly translucent and glowing green, but he was there. He helped Qrow remove the boy's shirt, the former throwing the white fabric at Yang with a "Make yourself useful, firecracker."  
  
  
  


Oscar whimpered as he sought out Ozpin's comforting presence. The old wizard started stroking the boy's hair, shushing him gently. "Relax, my son, you're going to be alright. I promise.", he murmured softly, a fatherly aura radiating from him. Qrow looked at him in shock at two of those words in particular. 'My son'. Oz...He didn't...crap. No wonder he'd gotten that glare from him. He'd called Oscar Ozpin's 'vessel'. Clearly, Oz thought of Oscar as something completely different: His child. "Oz...I'm sorry..." Ozpin held up his other hand, silencing him. "Now is not the time for that. Oscar needs to lie down and get some rest." Qrow exhaled, nodding. "How long can you project yourself like that..?" Ozpin glanced at him. "Long enough to get Oscar settled into a bed."  
  
  
  


The two men, one solid and one not, put one of Oscar's arms around their shoulders and started helping him up the stairs. Ozpin turned his attention to the teens watching them. "Can someone take Mr. Arc outside so he can cool off? Thank you." He looked at Yang, meeting her glare head on with no sign of fear. "Oh, and Miss Rose?" Ruby perked up. "Please retrieve Oscar's shirt from your sister and bring it up when you can. I'm sure he's going to want it back once he's feeling better.." His golden-brown gaze moved to her instead. Ruby nodded, saluting him half-heartedly. "Will do, Professor!!" Ozpin gave them a little smile before him and Qrow continued on up the stairs. Nora and Ren dragged Jaune outside, not giving him a choice otherwise.  
  
  
  
  


Weiss exhaled. "Well, that escalated quickly.." Blake nodded in agreement. "I'm just glad that it's over and they managed to stop Jaune from seriously hurting Oscar. That would have been bad." Yang looked at them in angry disbelief. "How are you guys okay with this?? Oscar's been lying to us for DAYS!!!"   
  
  
  
  


Ruby stepped forward. "Yang, I get it. You're feeling betrayed after what happened with Ozpin. That's not Oscar's fault. He **_did _**lie to us too, I'll give you that, and he was hiding Ozpin from us. Do I blame him? No. Not at all. We were all seriously harsh with Oz. I'm not saying it wasn't justified. We had good reason to be mad. However, we went too far. **_Jaune_** went too far. Oscar was just protecting Ozpin. The two of them have a connection that I don't think we'll ever understand." Yang glared at her. "Ruby..." Ruby shook her head. "I don't want to hear it. Now, give me Oscar's shirt." Yang growled to her self before throwing the shirt. Ruby caught it easily. "Thanks!!" She flashed them a smile before running up the stairs.  
  
  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  


(Who's ready for some RoseGarden?????)  
  
  
  
  


When Ruby made it up the stairs, the first thing she saw was her uncle standing guard outside of what must have been Oscar's room. She stopped beside him. "Hey, Uncle Qrow. I've got Oscar's shirt." Qrow gave her a smile. "Hey, kiddo. Oscar's out cold now, so you should be fine going in." He opened the door for her. "Thanks." She walked into the room and Qrow closed the door behind her.   
  
  
  
  


There was a stillness to the room that she didn't like. Oscar was motionless on the bed, making her feel super uncomfortable. She steeled herself before slowly walking over to the bed, dragging the wooden desk chair over so she could sit in it. She wrung Oscar's shirt in her hands as she looked at his unconscious face. He looked so peaceful despite the horrible thing that had just happened to him. He could have died just now and it would have been murder. Jaune could have **_murdered_** him. Just the thought of that shattered her heart. Only a year ago she had discovered that had romantic feelings for Weiss, but now....  
  
  
  


_"You....have silver eyes..."_   
  
  
  


_"_ _Oh my gosh_ _! I'm so sorry!! Are you - gack!!!"_  
  
  
  


_"......Thanks, Ruby....."_   
  
  
  


Wide green eyes, with orange at the center, filled her vision. A warm, shy smile. The _freckles_. Just looking into his eyes took her breath away. He was one of the purest people she'd ever met, even with the sharing his head with Ozpin thing. She had never met anyone like him. She reached out a hand and hesitantly touched one of his tanned, freckled, cheeks. "You don't deserve to be treated this way....you didn't do anything wrong...", she spoke softly, her voice the only sound in the room besides Oscar's ragged breathing. Jaune had really done a number on him. The thought just made her mad. Grieving or not, there was _**no**_ reason for what the blonde had done. Oscar had good reason to hide his father-figure from them. Ruby completely understood.

She sighed, pulling back her hand. If she lingered here too long, Yang would come looking for her and she didn't want any more drama to start. She stood, placing the shirt near the boy on the bed. She leaned over, kissing his forehead, then turning and walking over to the door. She looked back at Oscar's prone form one more time before leaving the room.

(End of Chapter Two.)


End file.
